"...?"
Uvogin, leaning forward, nearly fell to the ground at that moment.
But the question marks filling his forehead and his wide, slightly bewildered eyes betrayed his current state of mind.
But as he looked at Luke, who had his hands placed in his pockets, he slowly bared his teeth again.
"You, you must know, right?!"
Uvogin's expression twisted. "You just don't want to tell us?"
"Hmm... that's fine, I guess."
Luke said calmly. "Besides, I don't think I need to tell you."
Uvogin: "..."
That... did sound logical, but in Meteor City, logic didn't matter!
Uvogin subconsciously clenched his hand, but then he looked at Luke, whose expression was calm before him.
He thought for a moment, then pressed his hands firmly against his thighs instead.
Just earlier, Luke had pinned him to the ground with a single hand, which alone made Uvogin too cautious to act rashly.
Besides, Luke had just treated them to a delicious meal.
And now, just because he coveted the unique powers and means he possessed, he turned his back on him and ruthlessly attacked him...
Uvogin felt that this behavior was truly a bit too cruel.
Although values like morality were largely absent in this Meteor City,
But right now, Uvogin wasn't yet the person he would become later, scarred by Sarasa's incident and shaped into a villain.
He was still just a thirteen-year-old boy.
He was more impulsive, but also more pure.
"So what do you want in exchange for telling us?"
As Uvogin bared his teeth, Machi suddenly asked. "Since you've already explained it to us, then strictly speaking, it's not something you can't tell us, right?"
Although Machi is younger now, only ten years old,
But when it comes to seeing through things, she far surpasses Uvogin. "If we rule out the idea that this power must not be told to outsiders, then your real reason for not telling us should be personal."
"If you didn't want to tell us from the beginning, you would have hidden it from our sight when you first created the sticky rice cakes, or used other means to conceal it."
"But you didn't do that. Instead, you let us know about the existence of this power."
"Yet when we ask, you just say no comment..."
Machi looked up and stared at Luke. "So, is it that we haven't paid enough of a price, or offered proper conditions?"
"Hmm..."
Luke also paused for two seconds, then looked at Uvogin.
"I think I understand why you've been able to survive in Meteor City for so long."
"It seems it's not just because of this muscular build."
Luke's gaze returned to Machi, and he sighed meaningfully.
Uvogin: "...?!"
What? What was that?!
It feels like he's saying that his survival is all thanks to Machi?!
Just as Uvogin's face began to darken, Luke nodded at Machi.
"That's right. In this world, everything you want comes with a price."
"Even power itself is the same."
Machi might not know everything about Nen, but she only knew that in this city, anything you want comes with a price.
Fighting, robbing, fighting...
They were already accustomed to it, so Machi wasn't surprised by Luke's request.
This was their daily routine.
In Meteor City, nothing good comes without a reason.
So, Machi was the first to realize it.
And as for Uvogin…
"Didn't you just treat us with sticky rice cakes before..."
Uvogin muttered: "Then just tell us directly, just like with the sticky rice cakes..."
"Didn't you work for me before eating the sticky rice cakes?"
Luke glanced at the guy who hadn't figured it out.
"That seems to be the case... Okay, then, tell me what you want us to do this time."
Uvogin thought for a moment, then, too lazy to think, simply said it casually.
"It's actually very simple..."
Luke looked at the two people's gazes, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.
"Just beg me."
"...?"
Uvogin's head tilted, and question marks appeared above his head.
Machi stared at Luke, not like looking at a joke, but rather thoughtfully.
"Do you have a strange habit of getting others to beg you?"
"Or, do you want to satisfy your own need for control by having others beg you?"
"That's a perverted thing... sure enough, there are people like that in Meteor City..."
Machi's mind raced, while Uvogin stared directly at Luke.
"Are you kidding me?!"
Uvogin has a strong sense of pride.
Even though he's only a teenager, his personality and temper have already long been formed in Meteor City.
Furthermore, at this age, this tendency and his need to save face are even stronger.
So, when Uvogin heard Luke ask him to beg him, he immediately refused.
"Are you kidding me?!"
Uvogin suddenly leaped from the ground. "If you want me to help you kill someone, take something from me, or do something else."
"Then for the delicious food, I'll do it!"
"But!"
Uvogin's face was grim. "You want me to give up my dignity and beg you humbly?!"
"Stop dreaming!"
Uvogin squeezed his palms, making crisp, crackling sounds.
"I'm telling you, even if I never had again eat such tasty sticky rice cakes or the like—"
"Even if I starve to death, die outside, I will never come back to beg you!"
Uvogin's voice was filled with unwavering determination.
But to Luke's ears, those words… Why did they sound so familiar?
And the person who said them, at the end...
"Let's go, Machi!"
Uvogin angrily grabbed Machi and walked straight towards Luke's door.
But just as he was about to push the door open and leave, Uvogin paused.
"These sticky rice cakes you gave us count as you treating us."
"In Meteor City, food is precious, and you brought it out specially for us to eat."
"No matter what your intentions may be, at least, we did indeed eat them."
"In the future, if you ever run into trouble you can't handle, you're free to come and beg me!"
"I, Uvogin the Great, will never say the word no!"
Bang!
With that, he pushed the door open, pulling Machi, who remained silent, away.
Well, just as Luke had asked Uvogin to beg him, in the next moment Uvogin tossed the exact same words right back at Luke, telling him to beg…
What else could be said? After all, he was still young, full of competitive pride…
"It's quite consistent with the Enhancer's personality."
Luke smiled and shook his head.
But there's no rush for this kind of thing.
Living in Meteor City, Luke had plenty of opportunities and... Time.
"After all, it's only 1983, and the members of the Phantom Troupe are still little kids. No rush, take it slow..."
After all, impatience won't get you mapo tofu.
Not to mention, Luke now inexplicably missed mapo tofu and a bowl of rice…
"Once my ability reaches another level, I'll have bread, and mapo tofu too..."
Thinking of this, Luke slowly closed his eyes again.
Around his body, an aura began to gently swirl.
Luke had experienced the benefits and effects of the Nen ability, Master Inventor.
But he also felt the aura consumption even more vividly.
While this cheat was powerful and impressive, its aura consumption was truly terrifying.
Now, Luke was contemplating how to minimize his aura consumption in invention.
The best way to reduce this is to utilize Vows and Limitations, adding more conditions based on abilities.
Luke had many ideas in mind, wondering if they could all be realized.
Just as Luke began researching, on the other side...
"What a disgusting, arrogant guy! He actually wants us to beg him...!"
Outside, on the garbage mountain, Uvogin walked ahead while cursing: "It was just a few bites of food, what's the big deal? Like nobody's ever eaten before."
"I used to think he was a nice guy, but now it seems..."
"He's just like those bastards who always come to my territory to steal things!"
Machi, following behind, was constantly pondering the strange Mochi-Maker and the items for planting and harvesting.
Everything seemed quite magical to her.
She was curious about how those things came about.
Or rather, how that man had invented them...
Bang!
Caught off guard, Machi, lost in thought, bumped into Uvogin's back.
"What's wrong?"
She stumbled back two steps, looking up at Uvogin, who had stopped dead in his tracks.
She saw Uvogin gnashing his teeth, his gaze fixed squarely on the three men active in their territory.
Machi poked her head out and spotted the three men.
And, surprisingly, they were all familiar faces…
Uvogin took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, and then roared in that direction: "Chrollo!"
"You bastards, you're stealing from my territory again! You're so brave!"
"Today, no matter what, you guys have to stay here!"
With that, Uvogin rushed down without a second thought. "Wow! It's Uvogin!"
"Just now we were saying how it would be nice if this wasn't Uvogin's territory, and then he suddenly showed up."
"This shouldn't be the time for Uvogin to be active, and he just finished chasing the previous group, didn't he? How could he suddenly appear so quickly?!"